8:30 a.m. President Donald Trump is welcoming former Vice President Joe Biden to the 2020 race with a taste of his acerbic Twitter commentary.

President Donald Trump is welcoming former Vice President Joe Biden to the 2020 race with a taste of his acerbic Twitter commentary.

Trump tweets Monday: "Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe," one of his nicknames for Biden, a fellow septuagenarian. He adds: "I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign."

Trump predicts that the race to face him in the general election will be "nasty" but says if Biden wins the nomination, "I will see you at the Starting Gate!"

Biden formally announced his candidacy on Thursday, entering the crowded 2020 Democratic field as a front-runner.

__

7 a.m.

Senate Democrats from Joe Biden's twin home states of Delaware and Pennsylvania are endorsing him for president.

Coons, who holds Biden's old Senate seat, says in the statement, "Joe Biden doesn't just talk about making our county more just, he delivers results."

Casey says, "At this make-or-break moment for the middle class, our children and our workers, America needs Vice President Joe Biden to be its next President."

Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but has lived most of his life in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden represented Delaware in the Senate from 1973 to 2009.

__

6:40 a.m.

President Barack Obama is weighing in on Joe Biden's entry into the 2020 presidential race, saying through a spokeswoman that selecting Biden as his running mate in 2008 was "one of the best decisions he ever made."

Obama did not endorse Biden, nor is he expected to endorse any candidate early in the Democratic primary. But the fact that he released a statement — something he has not done after any other candidate announcements — underscores his close personal bond with Biden.

Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill says Obama relied on Biden's "knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency."

The former president has met with multiple Democratic presidential contenders and is said to welcome the large 2020 field and believe it will make the eventual Democratic nominee a stronger White House contender.

__

6:01 a.m.

Joe Biden has formally entered the 2020 race for president.

The vice president under President Barack Obama made the announcement in a video released Thursday morning.

The move marks what will likely be the 76-year-old's final opportunity to seek a job he has eyed for more than a generation. He struggled in two previous campaigns.

One of the most recognizable names in U.S. politics, Biden leads most early Democratic primary polls. But as an older white man who spent a half-century in Washington, it's unclear if he will be embraced by today's increasingly liberal Democratic Party.

___

(This story has not been edited by economictimes.com and is auto–generated from a syndicated feed we subscribe to.)